Carlyle seeks to raise $4 billion for new energy fund: FT

(Reuters) - Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP (CG.O) is looking to raise a $4 billion fund for investing in oil and gas assets outside North America, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The fund will be used to buy companies in the energy supply chain and through these companies, assets in exploration and production, refining, marketing and oilfield services will be bought, the FT reported.

Carlyle was not immediately available for comment.

“Not so many investors are deploying money in Africa, the North Sea and Russia, so there is an opportunity,” an institutional investor, with direct knowledge of the new fund, told the newspaper.

Carlyle’s London-based team is exploring investments in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia, according to the FT report.

Two of the company’s top executives met investors on Tuesday, the report said, citing two people at the gathering.

In 2013, the company had launched Carlyle International Energy Partners (CIEP), the group’s overseas energy investment fund, with $2.5 billion and made a number of high-profile deals.

Reuters reported in November that the Washington-based company was raising $1 billion for a new fund to invest in oil and gas outside the United States.